The 9 finalists of the Eurovision Song Contest have been announced: who went on
4 December 2025 06:06
Thepublic broadcaster has announced the list of nine finalists for the national selection for Eurovision 2026, who are guaranteed to participate in the selection of Ukraine’s representative at the concert in February, "Komersant Ukrainian" reports
The shortlist was formed based on the results of live auditions conducted by Jamala, the music producer of the selection.
The six artists who are not on the shortlist will hope for the audience’s favor – in January, a vote will be held via Diia to determine the tenth finalist.
The 70th anniversary edition of the competition will be held in May in Vienna.
The shortlist of finalists for the Eurovision Song Contest 2026:
- Jerry Heil
- LAUD
- LELÉKA
- MOLODI
- Monokate
- Mr. Vel
- The Elliens
- Valeriya Force
- “PikeFish.
Why there was a scandal around the National Selection
This year’s National Selection was not without a loud public controversy. Singer Olya Polyakova, when she applied, said that the rules of the competition were “discriminatory”.
This refers to a clause that prohibits artists who visited Russia after 2014 from participating.
The national broadcaster explains that this is an important security and moral norm that has been in place for years, and they have no plans to revise it.
After Suspilne refused to change the regulations, Polyakova’s producer Mykhailo Yasynskyi threatened to take legal action.
So far, the broadcaster has not changed its position.
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